The Missouri S&T media juggernaught (OK, just John and Bob) was heading toward home through Memphis, and they figured "why not"? A quick phone call to Graceland with a VERY unusual request, and they rolled out the red carpet (thanks Peggie S.) for Solar Miner IV!
Mike Gates, Graceland's Operations Manager, met the Miners at the gate, assigned them a guard to help to protect the car, and said (essentially) to "do what you want". They held up the tour buses so those famous gates could be closed for a few minutes just for unique photos. AND they want copies for their internal publications! Way cool!

You also wouldn't believe what happened while the car was being set up. An alum of Queen's College in Canada, another top solar car racing team, stopped by to chat. Then a FedEx employee responsible for clearing Solar Miner III through Customs on it's '01 trip to Australia came by to see how the car was doing. A few Dutch tourists, who also knew of solar car racing, wanted to talk about the car, and many other people stopped to see what the curious vehicle was all about. And some guy in jet black hair and flashy sunglasses also helped orient the car for just the best photo angle. Didn't catch his name, though.

To top it all off, UMR alum Zack Lawrence (Geophysics '03) stopped by to help. His wife and fellow alum Sarah Jane Krupa (Geophysics '02) heard we were in town and told Zack to come down. John presented Zack with what is probably the first MO S&T t-shirt in Tennessee. Thanks for the help, Zack!